Accordion



March 18, 1958 J. GlULIETTl ACCORDION S SheetS-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 19, 1955 ATTORNEYS March 18, 1958 J. GIULIETTI ACCORDION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 19, 1955 PIC-3.7

FIG. 2.

FIG. 8

ACCORDION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 19. 1955 INVENTOR. 4/21/70 Qmfikffz' ATTO RN EYS United States Patent ACCORDION Julio Giulietti, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Giulietti Accordion Corp., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 19, 1955, Serial No. 529,523

7 Claims. (Cl. 84-376) This invention relates to musical instruments and, more particularly, to piano accordions provided with means for obtaining various tone effects.

One object of the present invention is to provide in an accordion, highly improved means for controlling the slide valves to either open or close the same in many combinations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in an accordion, highly improved means for controlling the slide valves to either open or close them in many combinations, the control means being so located on the accordion as to be easily accessible to the fingers of the player with out necessitating the removal of his hand from the keyboard while the accordion is being played.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved keyboard for controlling the slide valves on the piano accordion which keyboard contains a plurality of keys arranged in a number of rows, the keyboard being disposed on said accordion close to the conventional piano-type keyboard thereon.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an accordion having a slide valve actuating mechanism which is simple in construction and convenient in operation.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an accordion embodying ing the present invention with some parts removed and some parts broken away to more clearly illustrate the several features of construction of said accordion;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the slide valve operating mechanism with one of the keys in its operated or depressed condition;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 but showing the operating mechanism in its normal or full accordion condition, none of the keys being depressed;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig.5;

Fig. 7 is an elevation view looking into the open end of the treble section of the accordion with the reed blocks removed to more clearly illustrate the construction of the present invention; and

Fig. 8 is a detailed view of parts associated with the keyboard.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the accordion 10, embodying the present invention, comprises the usual treble and bass sections 12 and 14, respectively, with the bellows 18 interposed therebetween. Both treble and bass sections carry reed blocks consisting of double rows of reed chambers which sound when the bellows is being 2,826,952 Patented Mar. 18, 1958 distended or compressed in order to provide music from the accordion. To control the sound of the reeds carried by treble section 12, a piano type keyboard 20 is mounted on the treble section and is provided with white keys 22 and black keys 24.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the treble section 12 is shown provided with four reed blocks 26a through 26d. Each reed block contains two rows of reed chambers divided by partitions 28, and each reed chamber i provided with a pair of reeds which sound the same note, one adapted to sound when the bellows is being distended and the other adapted to sound when the bellows is being compressed. Above each reed chamber is an aperture 30 through which air may pass in order to cause the reeds in the reed chamber to vibrate. The apertures or openings 30 are controlled by sets of valves 32, 34, 36 and 38 and their associated valves 32', 34, 36 and 38 which are slidably mounted over said openings 30 for either closing or opening a row of apertures over an associated row of reed chambers whereby to prevent and permit the reeds in said row of reed chambers from sounding. The slide valves are controlled by keys or registers 40 forming a shift or register keyboard 42 in the treble, the shift keyboard being so arranged that the keys are disposed in a plurality of rows here shown as three in number. Linkage is provided to connect the keys 4-0 on the shift keyboard to the slide valves 32 to 38 and 32 to 33' so as to operate combinations of said slide valves to open and close the openings over the reed chambers whereby to prevent and permit sounding the reeds contained therein.

More particularly, the treble section of accordion it? is arranged so that reed blocks 26;: and 26b contain reeds controlled by the black keys 24 on the keyboard and reed blocks 26c and 26d are arranged to be controlled by the white keys 22 on the keyboard. Specifically, the black keys are connected by means of pivotally mounted arms 44 to pads 46 overlying apertures 48 in a plate 50 which apertures register with apertures 31' in the reed chambers so as to permit air to flow in and out of said chambers. Accordingly, when a black key 24 is depressed, a pad 46 is lifted out of overlying relationship with plate 50 to thereby permit air to flow into and out of the reed chambers contained in reed blocks 26a and 26b whereby to permit the reeds associated with said reed chambers to vibrate. The four reeds which sound in unison are preferably arranged to all play substantially the same note, one of said reeds playing the note in a low octave, a second reed playing the note in a middle octave and a third reed playing the note in a high octave, the fourth reed playing a slightly discordant note in the middle octave whereby to provide a tremolo or accordion tone to the instrument. A similar arrangement is provided for white keys 22. White keys 22 are carried by pivotally mounted levers 52 which are in turn connected to pads 54 overlying four apertures 56 in plate 50. Apertures 56 register with apertures 30 in the reed chambers contained in reed blocks 26c and 26d. Accordingly, when a white key is depressed pad 54 moves out of overlying relationship with the apertures 56 and thereby permits air to flow through the reed chambers contained in said reed blocks 26c and 26:1. The reeds controlled by the White keys are arranged substantially the same as the reeds controlled by the black keys to provide for low, medium and high tones with a slightly disoordant medium tone for accordion quality. Overlying pads 46 and 54, their associated levers 44 and 52, and the shift keyboard operating mechanism is a bathe 55.

The slide valves are arranged in four groups of two, each group operating in unison. More particularly, the slide valve 38 overlying the row of reed chambers which sound the low notes controlled by the black keys is coupled by a pivotally mounted lever 57 with the slide valve 38' overlying the reed chambers having the reeds sounding the low notes controlled by the White keys so that both slide valves operate to either open or close their associated reed chambers simultaneously. The other sets of slide valves, that is sets 3232, 3434' and 36-36, are similarly arranged. A more detailed de scription of the coupling arrangement will be presented hereinafter.

By operating the keys 4-1) on shift keyboard 42, combinations of sets of slide valves can be operated whereby to provide various tonal effects for the accordion such as a piccolo tone with only highest note sounding, the openings of the remaining reed chambers being closed by the slide valves, or a violin tone in which just the two sets of reed chambers playing the middle notes are permitted to sound, the apertures overlying the high and low rows of reed chambers being closed by their associated slide valves.

As already stated, in accordance with the present invention the slide valves are controlled by a shift keyboard 42 comprising a plurality of keys 40 arranged in a number of rows. By arranging the keys in a number of rows, the entire shift keyboard is compressed into a relatively small area adjacent the piano type keyboard 21) whereby to obviate the necessity of the player moving his hand through a wide range in order to shift the tonal effects of the accordion from one to another, the player only needing to move his hand a very small distance in order to gain access to any of the keys 40 on shift keyboard 42. The shift keyboard comprises a plurality of relatively slidable movable shift plates 60, 62, 64 and 66 which may be moved in various combinations so as to eifect movement of various groups of slide valves in order to achieve various tonal effects in the accordion. Each plate is associated with one set of slide valves and is connected thereto by links 70 in a manner which will be described in detail hereinafter.

The shift keyboard 42 comprises in addition to the slidably movable plates hereinbefore mentioned a base plate 72 having upturned ends 74. The upturned ends of base plate 72 are provided with struck up portions 76 which are fixedly connected to the housing of treble section 12 as by securing elements 78. A plurality of square apertures 84 are provided in the bottom of base plate 72 and are arranged similar to the arrangement of keys 40 on the shift keyboard, that is, in a plurality of rows. Overlying the bottom of base plate 72 and forming a part thereof is a guide plate 88 having upwardly bent side walls 86 and which is fixedly secured to the bottom of the base plate and for all intents and purposes is integral therewith. Side walls 80 are provided with struck up portions 82 which form guides for the slidably movable plates.

Each of the slidable plates heretofore mentioned is provided with a plurality of substantially square apertures 9%) arranged similar to the arrangement of keys 4%}, each of said plates having at each aperture therein either an extension tip 92 extending from the top edge thereof into said aperture (as viewed in Fig. 3) or an extension tip 94 extending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof into said aperture (as viewed in Fig. 3) Each aperture in each plate is adapted to register with corresponding apertures in each other slidable plate so as to form sets of apertures which are arranged substantially the same as the disposition of keys 40 on keyboard 42.

Pivotally mounted on the bottom of the guide plate are a plurality of actuators 96. The actuators are pivotally mounted by rivets 98 extending through the guide plate and the bottoms of the rivets preferably do not extend beyond the bottom of base plate 72. It is for the reason of providing a smooth bottom to the keyboard that the guide plate is employed, thereby recessing the mounting of the actuators from the bottom surface of the base plate 72. Each actuator 96 is provided with upturned ends 100 and 102 which extend through a'rcuate' slots 104 and 106, respectively, in the guide plate for a distance suflicient to extend above the top of topmost slidable plate 60. With the arrangement heretofore described, it will be clear that when an actuator is'moved from its normal position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6 to its operated position shown in solid lines in Fig. 6, the upturned end 19 engages tips 92 on the movable plates to move the plates having tips 92 extending into the associated aperture out of their normal position. At the same time, upstanding end 102 of actuator 96 moves in the opposite direction so as to engage extension tips 94 to insure that the plates carrying said extension tips 94 move to or remain in the normal position. In this manner movement of the plates is effected whereby to impart movement to the slide valves 32 through 38. It is believed obvious that various combinations of movements of the slidably movable plates can be effected by providing different combinations of plates with either tips 92 or 94 at each set of apertures and that the movement of each combination of plates is effected by the movement of only one actuator 96. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the term combination of plates as used herein means either one or several plates. It is also believed clear that at no aperture will a single plate have both a tip 92 and a tip 94, these tips being clearly necessarily provided in the alternative in order for movement to be efiected.

Actuators 96 are moved by downwardly extending strikers 108 on keys 40. The keys 40 are pivotally mounted in a manner to be described hereinafter so that when a key is depressed by the player, the striker 108 moves so as to engage an abutment 110 on actuator 96 in order to impart pivotal movement to the actuator in the manner hereinabove described. It is to be noted that each striker 108 on a key 40 passes through a slot 112 in guide plate 88 in order to efiect engagement with abutment 116 on the actuator which is disposed under said guide plate. The extent of movement of the actuator and of the key and indirectly of theslide valves themselves is controlled by the extent of slot 112, the striker 108 engaging one end of the slot 112 when in normal position and the other end of slot 112 when in the actuated position.

In order to pivotally mount keys 4! in the position heretofore described, the guide plate is provided with a plurality of struck up portions 114 whichextend through apertures 96 and through apertures 116 especially provided for the upward disposition of the struck up portions 114 to a point above the topmost slidable plate 60. Struck up portions 114 are provided at their tops with openings 118 which are in registry with other openings 118 in the struck up portions in the same row of apertures 90. Keys 49 are provided with hubs 119 which extend transversely of said keys to register with the openings in the struck up portions 114. Pivot pins 120 extend through said openings 114 and through the centers of hubs 119 in order to pivotally mount thekeys on the keyboard.

To yieldably hold the slidably movable plates in either the normal position or in their operated positions, each movable plate is provided with a pair of notches 122 in the side edge thereof. Mounted on the upwardly extending ends 74 of base plate 72 is a detent spring 124 which is adapted to engage said notches for yieldably holding the plates in said positions. The spring 124 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending slots 123 so as to divide the end 126 thereof into a plurality of separately acting spring portions each of which is adapted to engage one spring for yieldably holding it in a normal position or the operated position as the case may be. Each of the spring portions is disposed in cutout 125 in side walls 74 and 80 in order to engage the slidably movable plates,

As stated above, each plate is connected to link 70 for operating a pair of associated slide valves. The connection of link 70 to the plate is effected through a pivotally mounted connector 130 which is pivotally mounted on a portion of its associated plate by a suitable securing element 132. In order to prevent interference with the proper operation of each of the slidable plates, the securing elements 132 are secured to extensions 134 on the plates and are adapted to move into notches 136 defined in several of the plates so as to prevent the connector element from engaging plates other than the plates to which it is connected and thereby interfere with the operation of said other plates. The free ends of connector elements 13% are internally threaded so as to threadedly engage links 70, and thereby effect concomitant movement of a plate and a link. The other end of each link 76 is pivotally connected to lever 138 which is fixedly mounted on a rotatable stub 140. The other end of stub 140 is fixedly connected to the double arm lever 57 which engages the ends of slides of a set of associated slide valves. When a link 70 is moved longitudinally by the longitudinal movement of its associated slide plate, lever 138 is rotated and thereby rotates stub 140 causing rotary movement to be imparted to lever 57 whereby to move one slide valve to the left and the other slide valve to the right (Figs. 1 and 7). The apertures on the slide valves are arranged so that when one slide valve is moved to the left and the other slide valve is moved to the right the apertures on said slide valves will move out of registry with the openings in the associated reed chambers and thereby close the openings in said reed chambers to prevent air from passing through said reed chambers and thereby prevent the reeds contained therein from vibrating.

As described in detail hereinbefore, each shift key 40 on shift keyboard 42 is adapted to operate a combination of slidable plates to thereby cause a combination of plates to move to their operated position. It has also already been described in detail that in order to facilitate operation of keys 40, the keys are arranged in a plurality of rows in order to obviate the necessity of the player moving his hand a substantial distance in order to change the tonal effects of his instrument. In order to further simplify the operation of the instrument and particularly of the shift keyboard 42, all of the keys in each row of keys is designed to operate the same number of slidable plates and hence the same number of slide valves. That is to say, each of the keys in one row of keys when operated causes the slide valves to move so that only one row of reed blocks sounds, each key permitting a different row to sound, the keys in a second row permitting two rows of reeds to sound, etc.

While a key 40 can be provided for returning all of the slidably movable plates to their normal position, it is preferable to provide means for returning all of said plates to their initial position under the control of a single easily accessible shift. member. For this purpose there is provided a shift bar 141 disposed at the outer side edge of the piano keyboard 20 in slidable relation closely adjacent the bottom thereof. Said shift bar is provided with arms 142 which are rigidly connected at one end thereof to said bar. At the other end, said arms 142 are pivotally connected to toggle members 144 each of which is pivoted intermediate its two ends at pivots 146. Toggle members 144 are connected to each other by means of a pin and slot arrangement 148. Secured to one of the toggle members adjacent the pin and slot arrangement is a spring 150 for normally biasing the toggle members and the shift bar 141 to their normal position. Fixedly connected to one of the toggle members 144 adjacent the pin and slot connection 148 is a link 152 which is pivotally connected at its other end to a lever 154. Lever 154 is fixedly connected on a rotatable stub 156 which has provided at its other end a member 158. Member 158 is adapted to engage a projection 160 on an actuator 162 which is slidably mounted on the side of base plate 74 of shift keyboard 42 as by pin and slot mountings 164. Actuator 162 is provided with a reflex portion 166 which is adapted to engage the edges of all of the slidably movable plates so that when actuator 162 is moved to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 reflex portion 166 will engage all of said plates and move them to the left to their normal position.

With the shift bar arrangement just described, when the player presses shift bar 141 inwardly against the bias of spring 150, the portions of toggle members 144 between pivots 146 move outwardly and thereby move link 152 outwardly. When link 152 moves outwardly, it causes lever 154 to pivot and thereby turns stub 156. When stub 156 turns, member 158 also turns and pushes projection 160 on actuator 162 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, thereby moving actuator 162 to the left. Actuator 162 pushes slidable plates 60-64 to the left to restore them to normal position. When shift bar 141 is released, the reverse of the above described events occurs with the exception that actuator 162 and the slidable plates remain in their normal position, there being no element provided to move them out of said position.

Although I have herein shown and described the preferred form of the present invention, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers with openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed chambers in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift mechanism for selectively actuating said valves in different combinations, comprising a plurality of movable shift plates in spaced confronting relationship, each of said plates being movable to and from a normal position, each plate having a plurality of apertures therein arranged in rows, said apertures being in registry with assooiated apertures in each of said plates to form sets of apertures when said plates are in normal position, a movable actuator extending through each set of registered apertures and movable therein, at least one plate at each set of registered apertures having a tip extending into said set of registered apertures and engageable by said actuator for moving said plate out of its normal position, different combinations of plates having tips extending into different sets of registered apertures for moving different combinations of plates out of normal position by movement of the associated actuator, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding.

2. In an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers with openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed chambers in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift mechanism for selectively actuating said valves in different combinations, comprising a plurality of movable shift plates in spaced confronting relation, each of said plates being movable to and from a normal position, each plate having a plurality of apertures therein arranged in rows, said apertures being in registry with associated apertures in each of said plates to form sets of apertures when said plates are in normal position, an actuator associated with each set of registered apertures, each of said actuators being pivoted intermediate its two ends and having its ends extending through said associated set of apertures, each of said actuators being movable to and from a normal position, at least one of said plates at each set of apertures having a tip extending into said set of apertures and being engageable by one end of said actuator for moving said tipped plate out of said normal position, the remainder of the plates having tips extending into said set of registered apertures for engagement with the other end of said actuator for holding said remainder of the plates in said normal position when said one plate is moved out of said normal position, said actuators and plates being arranged to move different combinations of plates out of normal position when difierent actuators are moved out of normal position, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding.

3. In an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers with openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed chambers in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift mechanism for selectively actuating said valves singly and in combination, comprising'a base plate having upturned sides, a plurality of shift plates slidably mounted between said upturned sides for movement to and from a normal position, each of said movable plates having a plurality of apertures arranged in a number of rows, each aperture in each movable plate registering with corresponding apertures in all other movable plates whereby to form sets of apertures ararnged in said number of rows, a plurality of actuators, one for each set of apertures, pivotally mounted on said base plate intermediate their ends for movement to and from an normal position, each actuator having its ends extending through its associated set of apertures for engaging a combination of said movable plates for moving said plates away from their normal position, a plurality of pivotally movable register keys in the treble, one for each set of apertures, arranged in rows and having a part extending through its associated set of apertures for engaging its associated actuator for moving the latter out of said normal position whereby to move said combination of plates out of said normal position, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding. a

4. In an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers with openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed blocks in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift mechanism for selectively actuating said valves singly and in combination, comprising a base plate having upturned sides, a plurality of shift plates slidably mounted etween said upturned sides for movement to and from a normal position, each of said movable plates having a plurality of apertures arranged in a number of rows, each aperture in each movable plate registering with corresponding apertures in all other movable plates whereby to form sets of apertures arranged in said number of rows, each plate of a given combination of plates having at each aperture a tip extending into said aperture from one edge thereof, the remaining plates having at each aperture a tip extending into said aperture from the opposite edge thereof, a plurality of actuators, one for each set of apertures, pivotally mounted on said base plate extending from the other edge of said apertures for moving said remaining plates to and holding them in said normal position, each combination of plates being movable out of the normal position by an actuator being different from each other combination, a plurality of pivotally movable register keys in the treble, one for each set of apertures, said keys being arranged in rows and having a part extending through an associated set of apertures for engaging an associated actuator for moving the latter out of said normal position, whereby to move said combination of plates out of said normal position, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding.

5. in an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers With openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed chambers in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift echanism for selectively actuating said valves in different combinations, comprising a base plate having upturned sides, a plurality of shift plates slidably mounted between said upturned sides for movement to and from a normal position, each of said movable plates having a plurality of apertures arranged in a number of rows, each aperture in each movable plate registering with corresponding apertures in all other movable plates whereby to form sets of apertures arranged in said number of rows, each plate of a given combination of plates having at each aperture a tip extending into said aperture from one edge thereof, the remaining plates having at each aperture a tip extending into said aperture from the opposite edge thereof, a plurality of actuators, one for each set of apertures, pivotally mounted on said base plate intermediate their ends for movement to and from a normal position, each actuator having its ends reflexed and extending through its associated set or" apertures, one end of each actuator being en ageable with the tips extending from said one edge or" said apertures for moving said combination of plates out of said normal position, the other end of said actuator being engageable with said tips extending from the other edge of said apertures for moving said remaining plates to and holding them in said normal position, each combination of plates movable out of the normal position by an actuator being different from each other combination, said base plate having struck up portions extending through said sets of apertures, a plurality of register keys in the treble, one for each set of apertures, pivotally mounted on said struck up portions of said base plate, said keys being arranged in rows and having a part extending through its associated set of apertures for engaging its associated actuator for moving the latter out of said normal position, whereby to move said combination of plates out of said normal position, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding. 7

6. In an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers with openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed chambers in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift mechanism for selectively actuating said valves in different combinations, comprising a base plate having upturned sides, said upturned sides each having two columns of spaced inwardly extending struck up portions, a plurality or" shift plates slidably mounted between said struck up portions for movement to and from a normal position, each of said movable plates having a plurality of apertures arranged in a number of rows, each aperture in each movable plate registering with corresponding apertures in all other movable plates whereby to form sets of apertures arranged in said number of rows, a plurality of actuators, one for each set of apertures, pivotally mounted on said base plate intermediate their ends for movement to and from a normal position, each actuator having its ends reflexed and extending through its associated set of apertures for engaging a combination of said movable plates for moving said plates away from their normal position, a plurality of pivotally movable register keys in the treble, one for each set of apertures, arranged in rows and having parts extending through their associated sets of apertures for engaging their associated actuators for moving the latter out of said normal position, whereby to move said combination of plates out of said normal position, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding.

7. In an accordion having bass and treble sections, a plurality of rows of treble reed chambers with openings at one end thereof, and a movable valve for each row for opening and closing the openings in the reed chambers in said row whereby to permit and prevent, respectively, the reeds in said row of reed chambers sounding, shift mechanism for selectively actuating said valves in different combinations, comprising a base plate having upturned sides, a plurality of shift plates slidably mounted between said upturned sides for movement to and from a normal position, each of said movable plates having a plurality of apertures arranged in a number of rows, each aperture in each movable plate registering with corresponding apertures in all other movable plates whereby to form sets of apertures arranged in said number of rows, a plurality of actuators, one for each set of apertures, pivotally mounted on said base plate intermediate their ends for movement to and from a normal position, each actuator having its ends reflexed and extending through its associated sets of apertures for engaging a combination of said movable plates for moving said plates away from their normal position, a plurality of pivotally movable register keys in the treble, one for each set of apertures, arranged in rows and having a part extending through its associated set of apertures for engaging its associated actuator for moving the latter out of said normal position whereby to move said combination of plates out of said normal position, said base plate having a plurality of slots therein, one for each set of registered apertures, said key parts extending into said slots and engageable with opposite ends thereof for limiting the pivotal movement of said keys whereby to limit the movement of said actuators and said movable plates, and means connecting said plates to said valves for concomitant movement thereof, whereby different combinations of rows of reeds can be permitted to sound and prevented from sounding.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,112 Lindeberg Nov. 8, 1938 2,486,889 Stahl Nov. 1, 1949 2,527,912 Bugari Oct. 31, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 417,465 Italy Jan. 20, 1947 459,179 Italy Aug. 25, 1950 V MMWW 

